ESPN's Greg McElroy Believes Georgia Has a Top-Five Defense in College Football

ESPN's Greg McElroy believes that the Georgia Bulldogs will have a top-five defense in college football this season.

While high-flying and fast-paced offenses are prevalent in the sport of college football more than ever, possessing an elite defense is still a necessity for winning championships in the 12-team College Football Playoff era.

Seeing as defense is such an important component of a team's success, ESPN's Greg McElroy took the liberty to rank what he believes are the top-10 defenses heading into the 2025 college football season.

In his list, the former Alabama quarterback listed Georgia as the fourth-best defense heading into the 2025 college football season. The ranking was also second highest in the SEC behind the Texas Longhorns.

"This might be a little controversial because they were not quite the same last year as they were in years past..." Said McElroy about Georgia's defense. "This was a group that was a little bit up and down last year, but I think the floor be quite a bit higher than last year."

McElroy also commented that his faith in the Dawgs' defense this season is directly tied to the Bulldogs' head coach Kirby Smart.

"I just trust Kirby Smart," said McElroy. "I think he's one of the best defensive minds in the entire country. He creates a culture of physicality and toughness that a lot of people don't want to play against, and it's hard to play against this group collectively."

Smart and the Bulldogs defense will be looking to right the wrongs of last season. The Bulldogs lost multiple regular season games for the first time since 2020 and were uncharacteristically bounced from the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The Dawgs 2025 season will begin in Athens as they host the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday, August 30th. Kickoff for this matchup is scheduled for 3:30 and will be aired on ESPN.